Dear %Subscriber:CustomField1%,

I hope you’re doing well this week as stay-at-home orders are slowly changing state-by-state. As always, we’re thinking of you, and when endo patients will be able to see their doctors and reschedule surgeries. In the meantime, we hope to provide you with more support and continued programming in the weeks to come, as well as continue our initiative to expand endometriosis education.

As you may know, education is one of the major pillars of the foundation. A critical reason that it takes women with endometriosis an estimated 7-10 years to be diagnosed is due to the fact that so many people still have not heard of endometriosis. Young girls don’t always feel comfortable talking about their period pain, because their family members may never have discussed menstrual health. That’s why it’s our mission to transform endometriosis into a household name, and that education begins with young people.

Due to the pandemic, schools are closed, and our in-person ENPOWR presentations have unfortunately been put on hold. We aim to navigate around this roadblock by continuing to educate people of all ages and all genders about the signs, symptoms, and treatments for endometriosis. But we need your help.

Thank you to all of our donors who have helped to ensure that so many students across the world are educated about endometriosis. To ensure that our EduKit continues reaching students across the globe, both virtually and in the school years to come, consider making a donation today. Every donation, no matter how small, makes a difference in the lives of endo patients. 

Have a happy, and safe, Memorial Day! 

In community, 
Margaret Cianci

Executive Director, EndoFound

Everyone is shopping from home these days. It's our new norm for the time being. When shopping with Amazon, we ask you to please consider using Amazon Smile to support EndoFound. We receive a .5% donation from all qualifying purchases if you select us as your charity. Remember that you have to login at smile.amazon otherwise if you go straight to Amazon you’re not donating. You can also simply follow this link: https://smile.amazon.com/ch/20-4904437

Did you miss EndoFound Patient Advisory Committee members McCall Huey and Ashley Boer on Stop Ovaryacting's webinar? Watch a recording here. Host Nina Cuthrell from Stop Ovaryacting was joined by McCall, Ashley, gynecological surgeon Dr. Nicholas Fogelson, and Miss Tennessee USA Justice Enlow to discuss Life with Endo. The panelists discussed the need for more widespread endometriosis awareness, diagnosis, and treatment in the medical community. “For how prevalent endometriosis is,” Ashley said, “my hope and dream in life is that when a woman goes to her gynecologist, it’s as easily recognizable and treated just as quickly as pregnancy.”

Additionally, the panelists addressed managing endometriosis symptoms and their effects on patients’ physical well-being and mental health. One management tip the panelists recommended was following an anti-inflammatory diet. McCall avoids inflammatory foods like dairy and gluten, as well as high FODMAP foods. She added, “It’s obviously different for everybody’s body and each person will experience different types of symptoms for foods so really listen to your own body.”

Speakers also emphasized the importance of having a strong support system. “I’m still 7 months now recently diagnosed so it’s still an emotional whirlwind,” McCall shared, “[having] someone who is communicative and will listen has meant the world to me to help process.”

Thank you to all involved for sharing your stories and expertise!

Claudia Donea tells her endo journey in three parts: denial, struggle, and hope. Countless times, Claudia experienced a lack of attention to detail and expert care from medical professionals. Claudia also describes the adversity endo patients experience in the workplace, which range from dismissive managers to an interviewer who once looked at her “endo belly” and asked if she was pregnant.

The three stages this endo warrior fought through allowed her to rediscover herself and focus more on what really matters. “After three stages,” Claudia writes, “denial, struggle and hope, I found four things in return: better criterias for friends, strength to stand up for myself, a dream, and a way to work around my endometriosis.”

Thank you to Claudia for bravely sharing your story!

We need your voices now more than ever to destigmatize menstrual pain, spread support, and help every endo patient know that they are not alone. If you’d like to share your endo story, visit this page for further details or email writers@endofound.org.

Over on EndoNews, EndoFound’s news and research portal, Özge Özkaya covered a recent study by Mao et al. (2019) concerning new insights on infertility and IVF in patients with endometriosis.

According to this new study, published in Molecular Biology Reports, the fluid surrounding immature eggs waiting to mature and be fertilized by a sperm is different in women with endometriosis compared to those without. “The difference is at the level of cytokines,” Özkaya writes, “which are signaling molecules that different cells of the immune system use to communicate with each other.”

The information brought to light in this study could help develop new strategies to improve the outcomes of assisted reproductive techniques in patients with endometriosis. As always, the work that researchers do continues to improve treatment for endometriosis patients. Thank you to all our endo researchers around the world!

Subscribe to EndoNews for the latest in endometriosis research from around the world, and contribute to these researchers’ mission to improve the lives of endo patients by donating today.

Looking for a new book to read on endo? Dr. Tamer Seckin’s second book, Endometriosis: A Guide For Girls, is now available for order, and a portion of proceeds go towards funding EndoFound programs! This book serves a guidebook for young women who are experiencing pain and includes narratives of patients telling their own stories, as well as the best treatment plan for each unique endometriosis patient.

Join Dr. Seckin and Alaia Baldwin Aronow, who wrote the foreword for Endometriosis: A Guide For Girls, on Sunday, May 31st, for the virtual book launch, which will also serve as a webinar for recognizing endometriosis symptoms, proper treatment, and why it’s so important that endometriosis is properly diagnosed at a young age. The webinar will be hosted by Seckin Endometriosis Center and journalist Sabrina Korber. Stay tuned for a registration link.

EndoFound is proud to be named one of the best endometriosis blogs of 2020 by Healthline! The Blossom Blog features interviews with endo advocates, researchers, and doctors, as well as original pieces on a range of topics concerning endometriosis including last week’s piece by Ellie Hurley on how to navigate painful sex with endometriosis.

Check out endofound.org for more information on everything endometriosis from education and research to treatment and advocacy.

Team EndoFound is up and running! Join us in supporting these runners as they set out to meet their fundraising goals for the 50th Anniversary of the NYC Marathon.

Do you want to raise awareness and critical research funds for endometriosis by running the NYC marathon in November? We still have a few spots left on our team! Fill out the interest form below to run with Team EndoFound. Every runner has a story—let endometriosis awareness be yours.

EndoFound is now on Tiltify, the number one site for DIY fundraising. Raise money by doing something you love. Challenge your friends. Be creative. Put the fun back in fundraising. Funds raised go towards supporting awareness programs, innovative research, and advocating for the 10 million women with endo.

Did you sign up and want to share your story? Please email info@endofound.org for the chance to have your story featured on The Blossom, or if you have any questions.

Thank you to everyone across the country who has fundraised in support of endometriosis! From birthday fundraisers on Facebook to running 5Ks, you make it happen. With your help, we can continue working towards increasing endometriosis awareness, education, advocacy, and research. To create a fundraiser, please set up your fundraiser on Facebook.

Follow the EndoFound on social media and be the first to hear about new research, program updates, or different ways to get involved. Our platforms provide a safe and supportive environment to connect people from around the world. Please visit our Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram and give us any feedback you may have by commenting on our posts or direct messaging us!

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Disclaimer: The information contained on the Endometriosis Foundation of America ("EndoFound") web site and social media is provided for your general information only. EndoFound does not give medical advice or engage in the practice of medicine. The EndoFound under no circumstances recommends particular treatment for specific individuals and in all cases recommends that you consult your physician or local treatment center before pursuing any course of treatment.

References to any entity, product, service, or source of information not related to the EndoFound in this site should not be considered an endorsement, either direct or implied, by the Endometriosis Foundation of America. The EndoFound does not recommend or endorse any specific tests, products, procedures, opinions or other information that may be provided on any linked web sites. The linked web sites may contain text, graphics, images or information that you find offensive. EndoFound has no control over and accepts no responsibility for such materials.

We hope that you find endofound.org useful in providing information and in helping you make your own health care decisions.